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OTTAWA: Growth in the real gross domestic product slowed to 0.5 per cent in the second quarter from 1.4 in the first.

Statistics Canada reports final domestic demand advanced 0.9 per cent, led by business investment in machinery and equipment.

Real GDP increased by 0.2 per cent in June.

The agency says consumer expenditures on goods and services, as well as business investment on residential structures, grew at a slower rate than in the first quarter.

Export and import volumes both rose, with growth in imports outpacing growth in exports for a second consecutive quarter.

The GDP's annualized rate grew two per cent in the second quarter, after expanding by 5.8 in the first quarter.

This compared with a 1.6 per cent second-quarter rate of increase in the US economy.

The output of the goods-producing industries rose 1.9 per cent, while the services industries edged up 0.1, the third straight quarter in which the output of the goods-producing industries has significantly outpaced that of the services industries.

The second-quarter increase in GDP was led by mining, notably oil-and-gas extraction. Manufacturing also contributed to the gain, along with the sector and public sectors (health, education, and public administration). Declines in the home resale market and in retail and wholesale trade slowed growth.